Gifted or Defective

I was flipping through the channels last night and came across Justin Timberlake giving a concert. He’s a hugely successful artist. People all over the world love him. He’s sold tens of millions of CDs. This presented me with a mystery.

To me, Justin Timberlake sounds like a shockingly untalented guy with a lot of musical training. Why do I perceive him that way when millions of his fans do not?

One explanation is that I have excellent taste in music while the people who buy his albums do not. Yay for me! I am musically gifted and superior despite my inability to play an instrument!

The other explanation is that I am mentally defective. I was born without whatever gene would allow me to take pleasure in this particular type of art. Since so many people have the capacity to enjoy his music, it must be normal to like it. I am nothing but defective and abnormal.

I see this situation every day, but I’m usually on the receiving end. People e-mail or leave comments in various blogs telling me that Dilbert sucks, despite the fact it’s in 2,000 newspapers, in 65 countries, with 20 million Dilbert books and calendars sold. I admire the self-esteem of the people who look at the incompatibility between my commercially successful art and their sense of humor and conclude there’s something terribly wrong with me.

The e-mail I have NEVER received goes like this: “I do not enjoy Dilbert, but since many people do, I assume the problem is on my end. Something is wrong with me and I am just writing to let you know I am defective.”

This is one of those “everything you need to know about human beings” situations. Any incompatibility between a human and the world is seen as proof that the world is screwed up. If a politician wants to give ME a tax break, he’s a visionary. If he wants to give YOU a tax break, he’s a frickin’ thief.

Describe the last time you disagreed with a popular opinion, about anything, and concluded that the problem is with you?

Comments

[Janos]

They want to hunt me down and kill me. They are right to do so, as I am a menace to society. Bwahahahahaha...

[Thomas]

"If manuals were mandated for everyone, it sure would keep a lot of idiots off the road. It would sure keep a lot of folks from eating and gabbing on the phone while driving."

Idea is good but unfortunately it's not working. Around here (obviously not US) almost all cars have stick shift and it neither keeps the idiots off the road nor prevents them from eating or gabbing on the phone while driving.

_That's_ scary.

[oleg]

Hating right things is as much a part of being cool as liking right things.
And many people view themselves as coolness incarnate.

[Bob]

Justin Timberlake is fantastically talented, but in a way that many listeners aren't interested in. People who like popular music, but not Timberlake and others like him usually listen to music for a strong melody and lyrics. Timberlake is more focused on rhythm, sound, and vocal hooks (in other words, as much timbre as melody). If you have an ear for production, you'll find things going on in his music that mega-selling rock bands would never even think of. If you like to dance you'll notice that every piece of sound in there is arranged to work with a moving human body.

I find a lot of times that when people think something sucks, it's often because they aren't even aware of the criteria the artist was judging himself by.

[Kevin Carson]

I gotta say, it's not just you. Timberlake and the rest of the bubblegum invasion--they're former Mouseketeers, fer Chrissake. N'Stync and the Backseat Blowjob Boys, they were both put together by the same guy, who manufactured boy band acts by the gross according to a preset formula; they didn't even play their own instruments or write their own music. It would be a better world if they were fed into one of Saddam's people shredders.

[JST]

I do this pretty often, and I think most people do at least some of the time.
For example, I'm a musician, have been involved with the business end, etc., so I’ve always been capable of not writing something off as "sucking" just because I don't like it. When Sunny Day Real Estate released the album "How It Feels to Be Something On" back in 1998, almost literally everyone I knew loved it except me. Since I respected the opinions of most of my fellow musician friends, I remember thinking that the problem must be that I simply wasn't getting it. I think it would take a pretty arrogant and/or stupid person to conclude that everyone else's opinion was somehow "wrong" in a similar situation.

[Jake]

I don't like automatic transmissions in vehicles. I think everyone should drive a stick unless they have an approved disability. I think a manual is much more involving and fun. Not to mention it's usually faster, with less maintenance and better fuel economy (there are few exceptions). If you're too lazy or uncoordinated to drive a stick, perhaps you should not be trusted to drive a few tons of steel on public roadways. If manuals were mandated for everyone, it sure would keep a lot of idiots off the road. It would sure keep a lot of folks from eating and gabbing on the phone while driving.

But I'm apparently alone in that thinking. Everyone tells me I'm an a$$ for that point of view. Therefore I must conclude that I'm defective.

[duckman1957]

I couldn't stand Ulysses, but it's considered by experts to be the greatest novel in the English language.
Posted by: Charley Cook

Charley,

Neither you nor your students are wrong. Ulysses sucks canal water. And so do the experts who don't recognize that. I just thought you could use the validation.

[duckman1957]

The e-mail I have NEVER received goes like this: “I do not enjoy Dilbert, but since many people do, I assume the problem is on my end. Something is wrong with me and I am just writing to let you know I am defective.”

Scott,

Do you really want people to e-mail you and tell you they are defective? I didn't think so. And the defective people know that. They are not that defective. That is why you have never received that e-mail. (Except the one you received a few days ago from Tracy Robinson.) I am happy I was able to clear that up for you.

[Tim]

Scott,
You don't like Justin Timberlake because his music is sh*t and he's and Arse. Everyone else is wrong.

[Trotta]

Well, I can't think of any situation like that right now, but I can positively asure that Justin Timberlake wants to be Michael Jackson.

[Charley Cook]

Actually, I admit this quite often when teaching my English and Film Studies classes. I couldn't stand Ulysses, but it's considered by experts to be the greatest novel in the English language. Must be me. I try to get my students to see that just because they don't like the particular book we are discussing in class doesn't mean that it is "stupid"--just not to their taste (which is fine with me).

[Nestor]

I have very little interest in music in general. I am forced to conclude this is a character flaw, since most people seem to think music is an essential part of life.

[Listo Cómics]

Once I tried to enoy opera music.

[Lamber]

That is an amazing outstandingly valuable point of view. I'd never have thought of it. I agree with it because I'm not wierd.

[Nucleus]

I aint not remembering any occasion upon which I agreed with ANYTHING i EVER heard, saw or experienced. I am the most defective organsim ever.

PS: do you actually read all the comments? How could you really?

[Steff]

All right here it goes:
I do not get Dilbert as much as I should, I am not a part of the office work land and therefore have to stretch my imagination real taught. A challenge usually makes my mouth water so I read it per chance I handle a newspaper. Now I should get some via email- yeah. Hip hop horah rah rah!!!
Back to this I still always bought your stuff for my father. He ran a very serious office with a shiny safety record, and I always wanted to give him a box of laughs. Cheers to him taking the calendars, mousepads and other items and using them and sharing the laughs with co-workers.

I take a stand on drinking water fluoridation---well, I am researching the notion of a stance. Here's the low down dirt- I am allergic to Fluoride. I actually, after some moderate research have a number of issues directly traceable to Fluoride.

Why is Utah the only state that never fluoridated?
http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/nohss/FluoridationV.asp

My plan to wake my sister up to this notion (she exhibits other symptoms of poisoning that I do not, some we share) includes painting a frowning face with vampire teeth in toxic toothpaste on my cheek (face) next time I go to visit. I will have her help me document the reaction of my skin in a photo log. I think this might help me when speaking with a health professionals and officials, because I think I might have the root of a class action lawsuit. Well I just want the toxin to be removed from out precious water supply before it is too late: residual buildup, very hard to remove aggressive element.

Now the problem may very well be with me: I want to have children someday. I want them to be able to enjoy this lovely garden as much as I have or more. I know it's a real peace pipe dream, from a lifelong dreamer....

[Friend of a Fan (but not a fan herself)]

Dear Mr. Adams,

The other night, my friend and I were enjoying a delicious meal of leftover Boston Market Chicken, and talking about Justin Timberlake, Kevin Federline, Britney Spears, and... your Dilbert comic.

She mentioned this blog post to me, and I read it.

To be honest, I am not a fan of Dilbert at all, but she is, and reads it regularly. However, I do try to exercise some degree of empathy when partaking of any entertainment, such as movies, music, and comic strips. Therefore, my understanding of a situation like this, where your strip has found success in "2,000 newspapers, in 65 countries, with 20 million Dilbert books and calendars sold," but where I think it sucks, leads me to believe that I have at least partial responsibility in failing to empathize.

Therefore, you will be pleased to know that although I do not enjoy Dilbert, I understand that many people do, and so I suspect the problem is on my end. Something may be wrong with me and I am just writing to let you know I may be defective.

But probably not.

well, the dog is cute, so i guess its not so bad.

[Just4yucks]

Scott Adams wrote:
The e-mail I have NEVER received goes like this: “I do not enjoy Dilbert, but since many people do, I assume the problem is on my end. Something is wrong with me and I am just writing to let you know I am defective.” (end quote)

This is a false premise, Scott. People (as a group) have widely varying tastes about everything, including comic strips. Some people don't like any comic strips, and those who do each have a different subset of strips they like. (Didn't you recently run a survey here on that specific topic?)

For the most part I'm willing to live and let live when it comes to art appreciation. There is, of course, an exception to every rule. My exception is Barbra Streisand. My opinion is that she is the most overrated human being on the planet. The woman can't sing to save her life, and she can't act a lick. But at least she has annoying and stupid political views she attempts to foist on everyone. Oh, and she is so special that she believes that her house should be excluded (somehow) from publically available satellite imagery. What an f&*#ing bitch!

[argenbert]

Sometimes people tell me I oughta be in the radio; and i always answer that i would fail miserably.

besides my widely-spread lack of talent, the explanation: I just don't have the people's taste. For example: I could never like American Idol, and many many other Popular things.

that's as close as i got to admit i'm defective, although in my little me i'm thinking "that's because people are idiots"

[bcammack]

I sure as Hell ain't a conservative, buddy. I might've been considered one back in the early 60's before the party was hijacked by the nut-jobs driving that bus today. I'm not a bleeding-heart liberal, either. Wait, I must be... a moderate! No, a centrist! Wait... maybe we aren't just labels! We're people. Complex, individuals. Damn. I'm sounding like a liberal, ain't I? All touchy-feeling and shades of gray. None of that absolutes and black and white stuff.

Ah, well.

As far as the small-minded insults go, what goes around, comes around, so you ought not to be too surprised or offended.

[randyi66]

Reading through some of the comments, it's really interesting to see must how many people subscribe to the "I'm musically superior" theory.

Personally, when I see something that I don't "get" - be it music, art, pop culture, whatever - I tend to think that it's just not my kind of "thing." Like the iPhone. I have no desire about it in any way. But that doesn't mean that I think all the fanatics are idiots. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Other times, I've disregarded things at first, only to come back to them with a new appreciation because I didn't give it a real chance the first time. Sometimes learning about the process behind making music or art, or about the history of an artist makes their art more meaningful. Learning more of the backstory of almost any subject including sports, fashion, food, your strange co-worker, sometimes increases your appreciation and might enhance your positive view.

However, one thing I'll never get is all the kids nowadays wearing their pants below their ass with their underwear hanging out. What is up with that?

[N]

Yes, I've had one experience.
I told my friends that I just cannot think of sex without love in it and that marriage rocks.
'You a girl by any chance?' and 'See a doctor' were some responses.

[Wolfger]

I've never concluded that the problem *is* me, but I often concede that the problem *may be* me. People don't seem to receive that very well, though. I think the perceive it as wishy-washy-ness. People prefer a solid opinion, even if they hate the opinion.

[James Bach]

1. Post-its: I thought they were a stupid idea when they came out. I worked in an office supply store at the time. Then they were hugely successful. I concluded that something must be wrong with me. I then tried using Post-its. Now I love them.

2. Ringtones: Why would anyone want to make a ringtone out of a song that they want to listen to? The moment of hearing the song is the exact moment of needing to stop listening to it and answer your damn phone. Obviously, there's something wrong with me, because it's a big business. I guess I'm just not as socially ept as to see the benefit others see in inflicting 8 seconds of your favored song on your fellow nearby humans.